Recognizing Your Partners and Supporters on Your Website

Any business out there needs to advertise (Simple enough). Billions of dollars are spent on campaigns to develop a brand image, so that when people buy their product or service, they adopt that image. This statement may offend you, but for the most part it's true. Advertising agencies spend countless hours understanding why consumer spend they way they do.

The same goes for companies that support charities. By investing in a charity, they are saying to their consumers that they support "Local' or support "Our Community". The public in turn perceive this company as less of a faceless corporation and more human, and maybe buy their product. So, what does that mean for the receiving charity? The sponsoring company needs to be recognized.

I will guarantee you that 4 out of 5 of Non-profits reading this do not recognize supporters on their Website. And if you say that you are, you are probably doing it wrong. You probably have them listed, but they're hidden on some page that has an outdated list of your supporters. Why is this wrong?

You have lumped grandma, who donated $5, with the local Walmart that gave you $5,000. You have given the same ad space for Grandma as you did Walmart. How does that make the execs at Walmart feel? (Ok, maybe Walmart is a bad example, but you get the point.)

Your supporters want face time with your community. They want to look like heroes. Give them that opportunity and they will come back for more. Put them on a page with Grandma, and I guarantee you they will think twice the next time you come knocking on their door looking for donations.

How to effectively integrate your supporters onto your Website.

1. Identify donation thresholds for your organization (e.g. Gold, Silver and Bronze) and list the "Ad Spaces" they get for each one.  Don't forget the opportunity for companies to buy exclusivity for one of your events, causes or placements. There is lot of appeal for companies to "own" a cause. Also, there is a very unique difference in getting your name in text and getting your full color logo on there.

2. Use your homepage. Identify 1-2 areas on your homepage where your supporters will get recognized. Get them out of that hidden page and give them some prime real estate.

3. Publish a Sponsor Kit that is available for distribution or on demand, so sponsors can get an idea of what you offer, when they are out shopping for a cause.

Although there are people out there that donate for a selfless reasons, there are a number of them that give and support charities because it will better their brand, product or company. By recognizing them, even in a small way, this feeds their need to get noticed for their efforts and requires very little effort on your part. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you know you are doing good work through your organization and they are helping you gain the means to do it.

About the Author

Emily Thomas

Drupal Themer / Zen Master

With a strong background in art and a hip design style that is all her own, Emily helps shape Pixel Sweatshop’s image. Emily also creates visually stunning website themes, logos, and advertisements for our projects.